I have a '51 with a flat head 8 and use it for my daily work truck. I drove about 10 minutes to the lumber yard this morning and turned off the engine to load. When I went to start, the starter could not turn the engine. Tried jumping - no luck and got towed home. I tried to turn the crank with a wrench and couldn't so pulled the plugs and still can't turn the engine. All has seemed fine till this. Oil and water have been fine and monitored. Any ideas and suggestions?
Thanks, Barry

 

I’m no flaty guy but sometimes the starter jambs, pull the starter off and see if the engine turns with a socket etc. The starter bolts I believe also hold the starter together so be gentle.

 

Don't panic yet. I think the chances of it running fine one minute and the engine being locked up a few minutes later are pretty remote. Are you holding the clutch pedal down while you're cranking? If not, try it that way. If it will turn with the clutch depressed, then the transmission could be stuck in two gears. That's not uncommon if you've got the column shifted 3-speed. The starter could also be jammed into the flywheel. That's not a rare occurence with these old starters either.

 

If you are down under there looking at the starter, check for a metal bracket from the front end of the starter to the oil pan bolt. It is frequently missing, and leads to starter jamming.

 

Thanks all, I have tried to pull the starter and it will not come out (unless I am doing something wrong). The body came off but the armature and shaft won't move or turn. Now I need help to progress.
Barry

 

[quote=BlueOvalRage;9691035]Don't panic yet. I think the chances of it running fine one minute and the engine being locked up a few minutes later are pretty remote.

I agee with the others, the starter locked up is the most likely. Put it in gear and push/pull it forward and back. I have freed starters that way.
On a separate note, I had the "pretty remote" case on an older antique car a couple of years ago. One hole had been sleeved. I drove the car and stopped to see an engine builder friend. I came back out after a short visit to a locked up engine. Apparently just as I shut it down, the sleeve must have started to drop toward the crank. The top piston ring went just above the top of the sleeve, expanded and pulled the sleeve down jamming it and cracking the top off the piston. There were no noise sounds indicating a problem on engine shutdown. I dropped the pan not knowing what to expect. I was actually relieved that the problem was reasonable to fix. We rebored the hole, pressed in a new sleeve, located a piston and reassembled. It is a car that I tour with and this happened 5 days before a week long tour-I made the tour!

 

[QUOTE=49willard;9692106]You lucked out with that, the way it sounds.